Behind the Cover: Why Scars Fade Took So Long to Get Right

If you’ve seen the new cover for Scars Fade, you’ve already seen the final result.

What you didn’t see were the hours—and honestly, days—that went into getting there.

Designing a book cover is one of my favorite parts of publishing. It’s the first impression readers get of a story, and I firmly believe a cover should do more than just look pretty. It should capture the heart of the book. It should make you feel something before you’ve even read the first page.

With Scars Fade, I knew that wasn’t going to be easy.

This isn’t just another sequel. It’s Rory’s healing journey. While Self Inflicted is about surviving unimaginable pain, Scars Fade is about learning how to live afterward. Those are two very different stories, and I wanted the covers to reflect that. They needed to feel connected, but they couldn’t tell the same story.

The funny part?

I wasn’t even supposed to be working on the cover.

At the time, I was in the middle of writing the ending for Heir of the Forgotten. If you’ve ever written a book, you know how difficult it is to step away when you’re nearing the finish line. The ending is where everything comes together, and I was completely immersed in that world.

But then…

An idea for Scars Fade popped into my head.

I told myself I’d just open Canva for a few minutes.

We all know how that ended.

Once the idea was there, I couldn’t ignore it. I had to see if it would work. One mockup became two. Two became five. Five became… honestly, I lost count. Before I knew it, hours had passed, and I was still moving text around, changing colors, swapping fonts, and tweaking tiny details that most people probably wouldn’t even notice.

And through all of it, I had one very patient friend.

Poor thing.

I must have sent her mockup after mockup after mockup. Every time I was convinced I had finally nailed it, she’d look it over with fresh eyes.

Sometimes she’d point out that the title didn’t stand out enough.

Sometimes the colors didn’t quite fit the mood.

Sometimes the composition felt slightly off.

Every version was close.

But none of them were right.

Instead of telling me, “It looks fine,” she challenged me to keep going.

Looking back, I’m incredibly grateful she did.

As creators, I think it’s easy to fall in love with the first version of something simply because we’ve spent so much time on it. Having someone you trust enough to say, “I think you can make this even better,” is invaluable. It isn’t criticism—it’s collaboration. It’s someone believing in your vision enough to help you reach it.

Eventually, after countless revisions, something clicked.

The colors felt right.

The symbolism felt right.

The emotions I’d been trying to capture were finally there.

For the first time, I looked at the cover and didn’t immediately start thinking about what I wanted to change.

I just smiled.

That’s when I knew we had found it.

The cover you’ll see on Scars Fade isn’t the first idea I had. It isn’t the fifth idea, either. It’s the result of countless little decisions, honest feedback, and refusing to settle for “good enough.”

And honestly, I think that’s fitting for Rory’s story.

Healing isn’t instant.

Growth doesn’t happen in one perfect moment.

Sometimes it takes going back, trying again, making adjustments, and refusing to give up until things finally feel right.

In a strange way, designing this cover mirrored the journey Rory takes throughout the book.

I’m so thankful for the people in my life who encourage me to keep pushing my creativity instead of settling. This cover wouldn’t be what it is without that collaboration, and I couldn’t be happier with where it ended up.

Now…

Back to finishing Heir of the Forgotten. I have an ending waiting for me.